Tauber Institute launches student and industry partnership

Thirty-one teams sponsored by 21 global firms, launched recently by the University of Michigan’s Tauber Institute, will compete to find innovative approaches to the industry challenges posed by their sponsoring companies. Exceptional students are paired with companies for a 14-week, multidisciplinary, collaborative project. Each two- or three-person team is composed of master’s students in engineering, business administration and/or supply chain management.

Tauber student teams work on-site at their sponsoring company from May through August. The University of Michigan notes that past projects have provided significant returns on sponsors’ investments, often uncovering millions of dollars in savings, as well as improvements in areas such as CO₂ emissions, energy consumption, through-put time and supply chain risk.

Tauber’s 2017 team project sponsors represent aerospace, internet commerce, high-tech, health care, automotive, energy and retail sectors. Tauber has relationships with 19 continuing sponsors (3M, AIP, Amazon, Boeing, BorgWarner, Cardinal Health, Cummins, Dell, Dow, Ford, Fresenius, General Mills, GM, Microsoft, Pepsi, Pfizer, PG&E, Stanley Black & Decker, and Whirlpool) and is beginning new partnerships with AM General and Target. In addition to travel throughout the U.S., students will also travel to Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Slovakia and South Korea while working on their projects.

The Tauber Institute for Global Operations works with industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management.